Study finds growing gaps in equality for women in conflict zones 

A study by the International Rescue Committee has found that women and girls in conflict settings have not experienced global rates of progress in terms of gender equality over the past 25 years. 

The study found that despite global gains, rates of school enrollment, literacy, access to birth certificates, and more are deteriorating among women and girls in conflict settings.

The analysis looked across more than a dozen measures indicative of gender equality in ten “high-hosting countries” for refugees and internally displaced peoples — Afghanistan, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Iraq, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Thailand, and Uganda.

The findings indicated there has been a nearly 44 percent increase in refugees since 1995, with more than 26 million people registered as such in 2019. 

Across the ten countries selected for analysis, Afghanistan has the largest number of displaced persons at 2.7 million, with over a 350 percent increase in the number of internally displaced people. 

In some areas, gains for women and girls have been encouraging and in the past 25 years, there has been a 38 percent worldwide reduction in maternal mortality, with 211 deaths per 10,000 live births in 2017. 

Afghanistan, Ethiopia, and Pakistan have all seen declines in maternal deaths of more than 50 percent.

The study found that although the world has seen an 11 percent increase in gender parity within primary and secondary school enrollment, countries including Afghanistan have never met this global standard. 

While literacy has improved more for women than men since 1995 (18 percent vs. eight percent respectively), Myanmar has seen decreases in female literacy over time, and despite improvements, Iraq, Uganda, Nigeria, Pakistan, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan have never met global rates.

Country-specific data on gender-based domestic violence found Afghanistan has experienced the highest increase in reports (46 percent), followed by Ethiopia (40 percent) and the DRC (37 percent).